Well, I don't know whether you noticed this week that Elon Musk is in the news. He's lost his status as a trillionaire. He's lost $640 billion. In SpaceX.
Now, before you feel sorry for him and think you're going to see him at a Food kitchen. It takes $1,000 billion to make $1 trillion.
So he's lost $640 billion. He still has $9,360 billion. I think he's fine. Taylor Swift. And Travis Kelsey.
That would be. We're married. I found it interesting that they came together before they were married and made donations to their favorite charities to the tune of twenty six million dollars. I thought well. That's a good thing.
I don't know what these charities are. But they didn't have to do that. They willingly did that.
Now, listen, I don't know anything about Taylor Swift. I'm not a Swifty, okay? I didn't even know what a swifty was until my daughter told me. She went on a tour. And the ticket sales Collectively of this tour were two billion dollars.
When she travels on tour, She has 100 to 200 people that make up the entourage. dancers and backstage people and support people and caterers and f all Okay. She paid all the people that worked for her on this tour, collectively Bonuses of $197 million. They still got their pay as well. You say, well, why are you telling us this?
It wasn't Elon Musk. It wasn't Travis and. Taylor Swift, it wasn't any of the Carnegies, it wasn't any of the Rockefellers, it wasn't. Any other rich person Who is the most famous person in terms of giving? The most famous gift ever given.
is recorded in the scriptures today. It was a poor widow who gave two coins that were less than in value of a penny. It's her that is memorialized. It's her whose name is in the scriptures. It's her who's been remembered for.
Centuries. Our focus this morning is those three verses. Verse forty-one. Verse 42 and verse 43 of Mark chapter 12. You say, well, then why didn't you just read those three verses?
Why did you go back and then read into chapter 13 about judgment and all of that? Because it is critically important that we understand This brief three verse incident in light of what has occurred prior. And what Mark includes after.
Okay. James tells us pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this. to visit orphans and widows in their trouble. and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. Jesus has been teaching in the temple.
Luke tells us that in the hearing of all the people. He said to his disciples, These words. Beware of the scribes. Beware of the scribes who desire to go around in long robes. Love greetings in the marketplaces.
The best place is in the synagogues. and the best places at feasts. who devour Widows' houses And for a pretense make long prayers, these will receive greater Condemnation. This account of this poor widow. putting two mites into the treasury Is in contrast to many rich who put their gifts into.
The Treasury.
Now, I want you to see that this is not, in my opinion. A lesson or a model for sacrificial giving. There are some things we can learn about giving. But that's not primarily why it's included here in Mark's gospel and in the same exact place in Luke's gospel. Jesus is two days away from dying on the cross.
He's just condemned the scribes and the religious system for their hypocrisy and their emptiness and for their Taking advantage of the most vulnerable, devouring widows' houses. What does the word devour mean? Eat up, destroy, consume. That's what this empty religion did. It did not care for widows.
It took advantage of them. And now, Jesus isn't going to inject this story about this poor widow between. Him condemning the scribes and then telling us in the next after these three verses about the destruction of the temple. The old Religion will be destroyed.
So you have to stop and say Why? Why at this point does the gospel writer, inspired by the Spirit of God, include these three verses. And as I wrestled with that issue, I thought, If all this is is about Why stewardship? I'm thinking. Really?
Jesus must have something more important in his mind to draw attention to this and for the gospel writers to draw attention to it. Jesus is going to say as he is in the temple. These things which you see. He's talking to the disciples. These things which you see, well, what did they see?
They saw the temple. It was massive. I don't think we have an appreciation for how massive the temple was. These things which you see, Jesus said, the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.
So let's look at these three verses together. Taking into particular care and interest the context in which we find them. And it'll become more clear as we move through this message. We're told, verse 41: Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury. And he saw.
He observed. He watched. how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much, Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites. which make a quadrans And he called the disciples to himself and said to them, Assuredly I say to you, That this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given.
to the Treasury. For they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had. Per whole Livelihood. The people. the rich people that he saw.
I don't, there's nothing in the text that tells us. that these people included the scribes. But I guarantee you the scribes weren't very far away. Because they were the enemies of Christ. They were plotting to kill him.
So they were there. And they may have been doing their religious duty as well. We do not know that. But Mark and Luke both tell us that Jesus was watching, he was observing, he saw. How?
The people put their money into The Treasury. He saw that. You remember the woes that Matthew includes in his gospel account in the condemnation of Christ concerning the scribes. Matthew 23:5, Jesus says. They, that is the scribes, do all their deeds to be.
Noticed by men. They did what they did to be seen. The parade before men.
Now this The treasury. Let me. Without getting into a lot of detail, just explain what's going on here. The court of the Gentiles was the largest area on the Temple Mount. It was the size of ten football fields.
I mean, it's massive. Inside the court of the Gentiles is the court of the women. That's where the treasury was. It was about 200 foot square. That's a pretty large area.
But it's nothing like The court of the Gentiles, ten football fields. That is where the day before Jesus went in and cleansed the temple and up. turned the tables upside down and said, You have This will be a house of prayer. You've turned it into a den of thieves.
So that's fresh on the minds of everybody. The Treasury Okay. Historians tell us that there were 13 Receptacles made of metal. that were there where people came and made their offerings. It was as if This was the place of the banking system.
This is where all the money came in. This is how the the Levites The temple people were paid. Orphans were paid, were cared for, widows were cared for. Eh?
So all this money came into the treasury in these receptacles. They were marked. For various offerings. There were nine that were mandatory, there were four that were involuntary.
So Jesus is positioned himself And he's watching. Watching this activity. And he's watching. Rich people come.
Now how did Jesus know they were rich? We're not told, was it the way they were dressed? Did know them personally? Was he exercising omniscience? We don't know.
But There is a distinction being made between the rich that he recognized and their giving, how they were giving. And how were they giving? Notice it says Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury.
Now, if it was people that were giving in order to be seen of men, how do you suppose they were? putting money into the treasury, these metal receptacles. Did they just walk up and just drop them in? Or did they throw them in to make a lot of racket to draw attention to themselves and their giving? I'm inclined to think it was that.
Well again, we don't know the specifics. Then One poor widow. Came. And threw in two mites, which make a quadrant. Two mites, two small coins.
There's a footnote in my Bible that says that those two coins amounted to what was. less than a fraction of a penny. As minuscule a mind as you could Imagine. She didn't know Jesus was observing her.
So whatever she did, she didn't do for show. But Jesus saw. There's a lesson here, I think. I was in Bible College and Seminary. We went through the Gospels with an eye toward the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, and we had a focus of.
what he did and what he said. I've taken notice. that there's another thing we ought to be Alert to. Because continually we are reminded of what Jesus saw. Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw.
How the people put money into the Treasury. He saw this single, solitary, poor widow. Over in Luke chapter 7, he says to Simon. This woman who came into his house and broke the alabaster bottle of perfume and anointed Jesus. Do you remember what Jesus said to Simon?
He said, Simon, Do you see this woman?
Well, what is Jesus implying? He's not implying, do you actually see her? Does it recognize? Do you recognize this? No, there's something more being said here.
You're aware that not everything Jesus said and did is recorded in the scriptures. In fact, this is an astounding verse. I'm sure you're mindful of it. John 20 verse 21 verse 25 says, And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if they were written one by one, I suppose that not even the world itself could not contain the books. That would be written.
Amen.
So my point is I have a question. What did Jesus mean? When he said to the disciples, Did you s do you see this woman? I've got to believe that the disciples, when they got alone with Jesus, said, Jesus, what were we supposed to see? Why did you direct our attention to her?
What was the lesson? We're not told what it is, okay? There's more to be. There's more That happened than is recorded.
Now, what's recorded is inspired and is for our benefit. But my curiosity says, you know what? I sure would like to know. what Jesus meant, because here I am trying to explain to you what he meant. Right?
And I don't have inspired text to say this is exactly what Jesus meant. But I'm going to take you down A Reasoned Road That helped me anyway, and I hope it'll help you what Jesus meant by that.
Now This woman, this poor widow, gave a fraction. of a penny. But Jesus says to his disciples, Let me tell you what I saw. And what does he say? He called his disciples to himself and said to them.
Assuredly I say to you, that this poor widow Has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury.
So I don't know where the disciples were, but Jesus is the one who's standing or sitting. strategically watching these The treasury, where money is being distributed, he sees this woman. this one solitary widow And I think the conclusion is that the disciples didn't see her. They weren't with Jesus. He had to call them to himself.
So again. Is this the supreme example of sacrificial giving? That your giving isn't worthy of divine commendation unless it is sacrificial.
Now let's just be straight up and honest here. Many, if not most, worshipers give out of their abundance. But how many give out of their poverty? This woman gave out of her poverty. And it would be easy to extrapolate from this: it's not the amount you give, but the heart from which you give it.
that is noticed by God. And as worthy of commendation. And that's all true. But again, is that why this These three verses are here in Mark chapter 12. Take note.
What Jesus did not say. Jesus does not tie her giving to her piety. He says nothing about it. He doesn't say to the disciples, go and do likewise. He doesn't say.
The only one's opinion you should be concerned about in your giving is the Lord's. and not what others think about your giving. That's not recorded either. Not to say that those things may not have been said later on and are not recorded for us. But what is recorded for us, and what are we supposed to learn?
So Let me give you four lessons that I think we can. legitimately derived from this passage about giving. I'm very careful. I don't want to say more than what the text is saying. And you can see how This text can be abused.
to prey upon people. I can hear one of these Shucksters. These Prosperity gospel preachers. and some poor widow watching on television. And he's drawn her attention to this.
I know you don't have much, but that's not the issue. Whatever you got, send it. There's a promise of reward here if you give out of your poverty. Can you see how that can be abused? And probably is abused all the time.
Absolutely. And maybe that's what Jesus is getting at. Because Jesus says Earlier on. About the scribes, they devour widows' houses, they took advantage of widows. Pure and undefiled religion.
is taking care of widows. What does unclean and defiled religion look like? Preying upon widows, taking advantage of widows. And is that what Jesus is saying? Look at the contrast, man.
You've signed up. You've followed me. We're about something different. We're not about, this is not a popularity. Movement.
We are in the minority. The scribes, the religious system, they're popular. They have respect. People think they're true. People listen to them.
So here's some lessons. First, God sees what man oftentimes overlooks. Jesus saw what no one else did. He saw the humble gift of a poor widow. And that is the gift that was worthy of commendation.
One commentator said: The other gifts in the treasury that day made a lot of noise. as they jingled into the receptacles, but the widow's might was heard in heaven. Number two, God's evaluation is different from man's. The widow's two mites added up to a penny. According to man's tabulation, but Jesus said that she had given more.
More than anyone else said they. How could that be? How could that be? We'll answer that in a minute. Third.
God commends giving in faith. Here was a woman in need of receiving charity, yet she had a heart to give. I don't want to say too much about what's going on in this widow's heart and life. But The very system that had was broken was designed to care for widows. Li listen to Deuteronomy Deuteronomy chapter twenty six.
Verse 12. When you have finished laying aside all the tithe of your increase in the third year. the year of tithing, and have given it to the Levite The stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled. Then you shall say before the LORD your God, I have removed the holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandments which you have commanded me. I have not transgressed your commandments, nor have I forgotten them.
The religious system made provision for this widow, take care of her. to take care of her in a way that was More than sufficient, and here she is. She's got two small coins. That's all she's got. Why is that?
Because the system failed her. Religion failed her.
Now, there's something going on. You would think that the person who understood this and said, oh, The temple was supposed to take care of me. Look at me. I've got two cars. I'm keeping them.
How she could have been bitter, how she could have been. just disillusioned, and yet here she is. She's putting the last two coins she's got.
So, where's her confidence? Her confidence isn't in the religious system that failed her. Her confidence is in a God who said to do this. She was, in one sense, I think, entrusting herself to God. It's interesting that just before Jesus commented on the widow's might.
Again, he commented on the scribes who devour widows' tables. Instead of helping the widows in need, They were perfectly content to rob them of their livelihood and their inheritance. They took advantage. And there's historical record of that.
So I didn't give you a title for this message, but here it is. Things are not what they appear to be. Things are not often what they appear to be. Case in point. Jesus says.
about this woman and her gift. He calls his disciples to himself and he says to them, Assuredly I say to you, that this poor widow has put in more. than all those who have given to the treasury. He just said he watched the rich. Give into the treasury.
So the issue can't be in terms of amount. She gave In proportion. To the next one.
So little. But Jesus said, She gave more. She gave more. And I think it was Warren Weersby said: it's not about the portion. of giving, it's about the proportion of the giving.
Rich people can give a lot. I don't know anything about Taylor Swift or The man she married, Kelsey. I don't know anything about their spiritual life. I can draw some conclusions about what I see on the media, but don't trust everything you see in the media, right? Anyway.
Things aren't what they appear to be.
So They gave $26 million to their favorite charity. Oh, they must be godly. Oh, they must be sincere Christians. You can't draw that conclusion. People give for a lot of reasons.
There was a man here in our church years ago. who gave rather generously And I said to him, Help me understand what your motive for giving. He says, I cannot afford not to give for fear that God will judge me for my failure. That's your motivation? Out of fear?
God's going to judge you? No, here's what he here's how he thought. God has blessed me, and if I don't give... He's just as able to turn the spigot off as he was to turn the spigot on. Do you think like that?
I hope your motive for giving rises higher than that. I know a man who He's spent his life raising money for Christian. institutions and Christian causes and He goes to rich people and He says, I'm very careful to say to them, listen to me, I'm going to make an appeal to you, but please understand. Whatever you give, however much you give, give a large amount or give a smaller amount, you're not buying favor with God. This isn't going to help you.
And you're standing before God. And I was thankful for Him to tell me that because there's an inclination in people's mind. God's obligated to me. Look what I've done. Look what I've given.
Look at the causes I've supported. What's going on here is in stark contrast. Two the scribes and this broken religious system. Dr. R.
C. Sproll in his commentary says this. The scribes, Jesus said, disguised their hypocrisy with long-drawn-out prayers in public. They prayed these prayers not to honor God, but that their piety might be seen by men. It was as if they peeked while praying to see who was watching so that they could enjoy their reputations.
He goes on to say, This is a dreadful evaluation of a group of people. Jesus' conclusion is devastating. These will receive greater condemnation. They failed to lead the people into truth. and failed to serve them humbly, As those entrusted with the truths of God, they would incur a harder.
condemnation. Uh Me, a lot of religious folks who think they're doing the Lord's work who are going to have to answer. for being dishonoring.
So, we need to be careful here about this widow and drawing conclusions. We cannot discern the motive of her heart in giving. Jesus says nothing about her heart. He just says about what she gave. Her giving does not make her a believer in Jesus.
Nor does it prove she was a follower of Jesus.
Now he does say For they all Those in contrast, all put in out of their abundance. But she, out of her poverty, put in all that she had. her whole livelihood. I've read so many commentators about this. One this is one I think is worth sharing with you.
This man says, Jesus' principle here shows us that before God, the spirit of giving determines the value of the gift more than the amount. God doesn't want our guilt money. God loves a cheerful giver. The widow's gift and Jesus' comment on it also shows us that the value of a gift is determined by what it costs the giver. I think there's an excellent.
Word of encouragement here for widows. Of all the people that the gospel writers could have singled out that are recorded and preserved in Holy Scripture. What does Jesus see? He sees one single solitary poor widow. I want to say to our widows here, God sees you.
God cares about you. If you think no one else cares about you, he does. He sees He has compassion on you. You see, if we look at this as some kind of a principle for giving, for stewardship. We could easily draw this conclusion.
That we should give everything we have. and trust God to take care of us. But that's not what this passage is teaching. She put. For they all put in out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.
Dr. John MacArthur says, and then she went home and waited to die. And I'm thinking, well, where's that in the text? I mean, you just got to be careful that you don't say things that are not in the text. When I read that in his commentary, I went back to the text and thought, where in the world did he get that?
Oh, I know where he got that. He got that from the widow of Zarephath. That was her, right? But th that's that's not this woman. She took care of the prophet, remember?
And God saw to it that the flour and the oil never Dried up.
So Lesson Things are not what they appear to be. And I think I might be wrong. But I think that this is the point of this whole Encounter. Think with me. The disciples in a few days They're going to see Jesus die.
And Jesus is using this as an illustration. Don't believe what you see. Don't believe what you see. I'm going to die in a few days. That does not mean...
that my purpose has been thwarted, that God's will has failed. To the contrary. I will not be a victim. I will be the victor. Satan has not succeeded.
He has been rendered powerless and defeated. Don't believe what you see. I will die on a cross, but that does not mean my life is over. I will rise from the dead. Do not believe what you see.
You must not see as men see. You must not see as you will be prone to see. What man sees as victory and success often in reality is failure. What else does this imply? In a few verses later, he's going to say.
To them in effect. Don't let your eyes deceive you. What you think is permanent... What you think is essential to God's To God-pleasing worship, this temple. It's going to be utterly destroyed.
There's not going to be one stone left on top of another. That's what's coming. And when it comes, don't be deceived. Because I've told you. And in the mind of a worshiper of that day, what Jesus said seemed.
Not only ridiculous, but impossible. I've been on the Temple Mount where. The temple was. And they go down and they show you these stones. And I don't even have anything to describe the size of the stones that they've uncovered beneath the surface.
They're they're massive. And Jesus is saying there's destruction coming. In Jerusalem, on this temple, and there's not going to be one stone left on top of another. Look around. No, they didn't even know what football was, but I'm saying, look around.
What you see is 20 football in size. It's all gonna be rubbish. Don't believe what you see. Don't be deceived as many of the people are. Thinking that the outward expression of religion is pleasing and acceptable to God.
It is not. It's empty, it's godless, it's self-serving. It's of the devil. Because the disciples, they were living in this society. They saw the popularity of these religious hucksters, these.
These people who were of the devil, on their way to hell, leading other people to hell. But yet they saw how they were received by the public. The people respected them, thought they were. Jesus said, Don't let your eyes deceive you. Things are not as they seem.
And then are they? There is a way that seemeth right unto a man. But The end thereof is what? It's death. To these religious leaders.
They were blind. Spiritually blind? All they could see was Jesus the man. They couldn't see Jesus the God-man, the Messiah, David's son, and David's Lord. They couldn't see that.
Things aren't as they seem. God is. granted us our five senses to interact with this world. It's a wonderful thing. Isn't it?
I can't imagine being without the faculty of sight or the faculty of hearing. Our fi our five census. That's how we interact in And make our way in this world. But In the spiritual realm. What has God done for men who are spiritually blind?
He's given us the vehicle of faith. The eye of faith.
So when our eyes tell us one thing, This is permanent. This isn't going away. This looks like defeat. Jesus died on a cross. They put him in the grave.
They won. No faces. You got it backwards. You got it upside down. This isn't defeat.
This is victory. You haven't done away with him. He's been exalted to the right hand of God the Father. You haven't exercised authority over him. All authority in heaven and earth has been given to him, and he's ruling with that authority in heaven.
That's what the eye of faith says and sees.
So These disciples have had a hard time, even though they've walked with Jesus for three plus years. They still think this is a political movement. They do they still do. They have Their eyes have deceived them.
So, Jesus is giving them a wake-up call. Men, there are things coming you cannot understand if you totally rely on your eyesight. Things aren't going to be what they seem. Remember the two men on the road to Emmaus? Jesus, the resurrected Christ, comes alongside them.
Hey, fellas. What are you talking about? Why are you so gloomy? Are you the only one in Israel that hasn't known what's going on? They said to him How did Jesus keep a straight face?
if you only knew. Right. If you only had eyes to see. And what did they went on to say? We thought past tense.
That he was. But The events that had transpired dashed their hopes. Don't believe what you see. I sat in the pew for. A year and a half.
There's a lost man. Hadn't been in church. started attending church because Carly had attended church her whole life growing up. And I thought as a married couple, we need to be in church. And it was more I don't know.
I don't know why I sense that that was something we should be doing, but I think more out of deference to her. She always went to church. We're going to go to church. Started going to church. Sitting hearing the gospel as a lost man.
Listen. I saw things. But I didn't see things. I didn't have spiritual sight, I was blind.
So I understand. Being spiritually blind and hearing people talk about realities that I could not see, I could not perceive, I couldn't enter into, and I thought. What is this? And you may be like that today. You may like Preacher?
You're talking about things I don't see, I don't understand, and you will not see until God opens your eyes and gives you eyesight. I will never forget. The night That I went to a Bible study, sat in the living room with about six or seven people. Still is a lost person. And I don't remember what the Bible study was about.
I don't remember, I could not recall a single word anybody prayed. But there was something going on in that living room that night that when I left I thought These people have something I don't have, and what they have, I want.
Now I know now what was going on. Christ was being made irresistible to me. They had Christ. And I was beginning to see the beauty of Christ. God had opened my eyes.
And God has to open a man's eyes in order for him to come to Christ. And that may be why some have never come to Christ, because your eyes have never been opened, you're still blind. It takes the operation of the Spirit of God. But listen. I'm not ashamed.
This church is not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. We believe God saves sinners through. the vehicle of the gospel being preached. That's why I'm preaching it today. That's why I'm passionate about what I'm saying to you.
To encourage the saints? And to Entice the sinner.
Well, let's bow in prayer. Father, we thank you for our Savior. We thank you for his compassion for sinners. We thank you for his love for his own. And we thank you for the power of the gospel that can Translate a man out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of your dear Son.
And for those of us who have inwardly experienced that transformation. and have been translated Cause your people to rejoice. And Father, for any who have never been so moved upon, would you move upon their hearts to day? Spirit of God, would you come in quickening power? Would you Enlighten.
The eyes. of the blind today. Because we we have seen Things aren't as they seem. We are unable to see spiritual things with the physical eye.
So Father, would you buy your miraculous power. Grant that provision, that ability, that faith that comes from you. to any who are here today without it. I pray in Christ's name. Amen.
We want to sing together. in your bulletin insert on the back. God of the ages.
Okay. Find that. Come to your feet. We'll see. God is glory that we are children trusting now Jesus always above us.
Son forever now God of His woes, Son of the Land, Princes of God. God in all us, we are your people, thou and forever lift by your hand. God has made heaven for all his glory. I are the people that must be praised. Jesus is trusting God and we.
Happy love and we bow now unto him who said he would never turn away from us. that he would continually do us good. They would rejoice over us. To that God. Be honor, glory, power, and dominion.
Now and forever. Amen.
